"I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy." Alma 29:9

Thursday, June 23, 2016

I have so much to talk about this week! Everything on campus
has been weird because 171 new mission presidents and 1400 new missionaries
came in yesterday and Tuesday. They've turned the cafeteria into a conference
center (because that's obviously the best place to put it?) so for the last
week there's been no room for missionaries and we've all been sitting on the
ground. Not my fav. I swear the food is getting worse here. I keep thinking my
standards will lower than they feed us something that is not distinguishable as
pork or chicken...Thank goodness for my awesome family taking care of me! I was
so excited to get a package and some notes. Hearing from you is always a joy!
But I digress-we're eating in the gym now, which is best described as a sweaty
experience. Four more days peeps!

I got to be a host yesterday but before I could actually
host any missionaries this guy asked me and Sister Ricardo to find a new
missionary that flew in from China last night and help her get to all these
travel offices. We took her to the missionary assistance office where they
apparently provide wardrobes for some international missionaries and we met
Spencer Von Jarret. He's in charge of the Provo office ordering and outfitting
missionaries. Sister Li barely speaks any English but I somehow turned into a
translator of sorts and was helping her communicate with Spencer. She's the
sweetest person I've ever met! We got to take her to get an x-ray off campus
and watched her try American granola bars and fruit snacks. Gosh she's cute! It
was really fun to spend time with her.

My district members are now the senior missionaries so I'm a
senior STL! What? I'm not saying I'm not qualified, I'm just saying I don't
know anything. I love my zone though, so I try to help them. I'm so ready to
leave the MTC! I'm tired of being in this place. I've grown a lot, but now I
want to peace out! I really miss the district that left on Tuesday and now that
they're gone I'm just itching to go to Florida! The only thing I'll miss about
the MTC is going to the temple! Take advantage of the temple-it definitely
strengthens my relationship with God every time I go!

Since BYU changed semesters this week we got new teachers.
Brother Anderson looks exactly like Bumper from Pitch Perfect! He's a tad more
spiritual though.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Hi family (and friends if anyone else is interested),Wow! I have learned so much since last Wednesday. I still feel like I just got here, but at the same time I'm already ready to go!My companion is Sister Ricardo. She's half Cuban, but she grew up in Logandale, which is by Las Vegas. We're both serving in the Florida, Fort Lauderdale mission. We had an awkward few days, but we're tight now. We both bring the Spirit and the sass, so it works for us:) We both really like doing stuff by ourselves and being alone, so the Lord definitely gave me a companion that understands me! It turns out we both played trombone and clogged. As Sister Ricardo put it, "Why did we do all the nerdy things??" Good question pal. It's crazy how close you can get to someone in a week. Did you know that your companion in the MTC is chosen by a member of the 12? It's not random and I can tell you that for sure!I love my district already! They're my cute little mission family. I have two other sisters (also going to my mission) and four elders (going to the Louisiana, Baton Rouge mission). I've grown to love them all for the people they are. I obviously told them about my twins at USU and I was a little surprised by how interested Elder Andersen is in them! He asks me about them and tries to give me advice to talk to them haha. My district always wants me to "tell about your Tarzan twins!" and I'm usually happy to oblige.I miss you all so much! I was so worried I would be incapacitated with homesickness, but I've been okay. I think about you and miss being with you, but I'm not incapacitated by it. College really prepared me for a lot of things about mission life. That being said...the schedule. I've never been so busy! And tired! I'm having trouble falling asleep (crazy considering how early I go to bed at home right??) but I've been doing pretty well getting up. Even though I hate being awake at that hour.Pretty much I work out, go to class, study, teach, go to class, study, and teach. Oh, and we study. And teach. You'd think with all that I'd be a master teacher but everyday I'm struck by how much I need the Savior to accomplish His work. I hate that I have to have faith before I know how things are going to work out. What is that?? Just kidding, but that's definitely something I'm working on.I'm a sister training leader in my district along with Sister Davis. We helped welcome the new missionaries last night, we plan relief society, and we go to zone meetings. Thaaaat's pretty much it.I'll tell a quick story and then I'll sign off. On Wednesday our zone leaders came and met our district. Elder Cox is this guy from Korea and he barely spoke any English. He was mostly using gestures and very basic English to communicate with us. We went on a little tour, then our zone leader had Elder Cox lead us in a song. He gets in front of us and goes "First of all, I speak English! I'm sorry you guys that was so racist." He's so funny but he thinks he doesn't have an accent. He always says "I don't have accent!" Um...you missed a word there Elder.I love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers and love-I feel it!Love,Sister PetersonHere are some pictures from my week. I don't know what order they're in, but there's of couple of me with Sis. Ricardo, one with Sis. Davis, one with my district and zone president, and a couple of lil old me. Love you to pieces!